Northern Beardless-TyrannuletCamptostoma imberbe
DESCRIPTION
4" (10 cm). A nondescript, dull-colored bird with a tiny bill. Olive-gray above with pale buff wing bars; whitish below with dusky throat and breast.
VOICE
A thin tee-tee-tee-tee-tee, loudest in the middle. Also 3 long notes followed by a trill.
HABITAT
Low thorn scrub, especially mesquite thickets and woodland borders.
RANGE
Breeds in southeastern Arizona and southernmost Texas. Many birds migrate to Mexico for the winter. Also in tropics.
DISCUSSION
This tiny bird, the smallest flycatcher in the United States, lacks the stout bristles at the base of the bill that are present in most members of its family; hence its name. Instead of fly-catching on the wing, it looks and acts like a Verdin, kinglet, or small vireo, hopping among twigs and branches in search of insects. Because it is small, nondescript, and inhabits thickets, it is most often identified by its distinctive calls.
NESTING
2 or 3 brown-speckled white eggs in a globular nest of plant fibers with a side entrance.
